earthe5ive

My wife and I have been planning to do the TransAm for a while now. We got the wild idea of going on a tandem. We're usually pretty matched riders, though i'm a bit stronger now, no doubt we'd be even again after a week or so.... thinking of renting a tandem next weekend to give it a try. curious to hear opinions from people who've tried both. Here's the pros and cons i've figured
cons: have to buy another bike. not much alone time. less space to pack
pros: cover more miles easy/faster. easier to chat. could play ukulele while pedaling across kansas.

prathmann

Would this be a tour with any support or just the two of you? Tandems tend to be more troubleprone than single bikes and you'd be giving up valuable redundancy - if one of your single bikes breaks the other person can still go to get help/parts/etc., but if the tandem is out of commission it could be much more of a problem. Especially if somewhere remote and out of cellphone range.

earthe5ive

good point. I should add that i work as a bike mechanic by day, and i'm young, so i'm pretty cocky when it comes to mechanical difficulties. also, i'm looking at the cannondale tandems, because we deal them, so i can get a deal on them.

Doug64

My wife and I agree that if we tried touring on a tandem, we would both be talking to our lawers in an hour. We are pretty evenly matched, but there are times when we use a little different gearing on the same terrain. She also "attacks" the downhills, and doing 40+ on a loaded touring bike does not seem bother her. I also think that riding "downwind" of someone all day could have some disadvatages.

We have done a 3650 mile cross country together and a lot of shorter multi-week tours. While we are a great team, on a long tour there are times when a little space is nice.

However, we have friends who woud not think of touring on anything but a tandem. It is like most things in life, personal preference.

nancy sv

We've done both and they are very different animals - both wonderful but completely different. I found I really enjoyed riding stoker on the tandem - I could zone out and just watch the scenery rather than paying attention for potholes. That being said, other people can't stand be stoker as they have absolutely NO control whatsoever. It can be difficult.

Although we thought we would be able to talk a lot on the tandem, it wasn't actually as easy as we thought it was, so I don't htink that would be a huge factor in the tandem's favor.

We ended up with some freak problems on our tandem - the rims exploded mysteriously (twice!) - which led to us being quite wary of riding it. The first time it blew we were going 40 mph down a steep hill pulling a fully-loaded trailer. Scary!! We still have a tandem, but now John rides it with our son and we haven't had problems with it - the problems may have been caused by hving two heavy poeple on it, but we will never know.

staehpj1

Some friends who did the TA said it was much harder climbing and more stressful from a "getting along" standpoint. Their take was that they wouldn't do it again and didn't recommend it.

I think it could work for some, but most folks would benefit from a bit more space. I am basing this only on my observations of others on tandems.

BigBlueToe

I wouldn't do this unless my wife and I had a lot of tandem-time together and really knew what the advantages/pitfalls were.

In my case it will never happen because my wife has flat-out said no. She says, "I don't want to look at your big butt in my face all day long!"

P. S. It's not that big!

EmmCeeBee

My point of view: The psychological factors overwhelm all the other factors (mechanical, efficiency, packing, communication) combined. My wife and I have a tandem, used mostly for day rides up to 60 miles. We've also done several multi-month cross-country tours -- on single bikes.

On our tours we've met several tandem couples. Most were happy with their choice, and obviously after a few days on the road they've settled in and adapted to tandem life. It's much more of a "togetherness" experience than just riding together, and this is certainly the attraction. But it doesn't work for everybody.

Being within 18 inches of each other for 4000 miles is either a benefit, or a disadvantage. The stoker has the [benefit/disadvantage] of peripheral vision only, and may either enjoy the opportunity to drift off, or complain about the lack of scenery. When you miss a shift or hit a bump, you have the [benefit/disadvantage] of blaming it on your partner. For map reading, it's a [benefit/disadvantage] to have a dedicated navigator telling you where to go. You get the picture...

Before you decide, you should spend a week or two -- at least -- on tandem rides. The first few rides will either be a novelty or a disaster, as you learn all the intracacies of balance and shifting and communicating. After that initial break-in, you'll start learning if long-distance tandeming fits your psychology.

The side issues -- bike transportation, packing four panniers instead of eight -- pale by comparison. If a tandem is right for you, you'll figure these out just fine.

I do notice that tandem tourers get a lot more attention than single bikes. There's something about an "inseparable couple" that attracts smiles and conversation, from kids to soccer moms to wheat farmers all across the country. That's either a benefit, or a disadvantage...

-- Mark

arctos

After 30 years on tandem tour with various stokers from young to old, individual differences can be a deal breaker for some due to control issues as mentioned. Riding style differences like spinning versus hammering or high downhill speed versus conservative braking also impact the joy quotient on the tour. Stoker suspension seat posts are a must for comfort when hitting unexpected bumps in the road.
What has helped mitigate many problems was the ability to rotate captain and stoker positions periodically. Are you two able to fit similar sized bikes/tandems? Could you as captain relinquish control to the stoker? Tire size and air volume helps too.

Tandem climbing while hauling a touring load in panniers or BOB trailer can be a long slog uphill. Try to keep your expectations in check. Attitude is important. Practice standing and pedaling also helps relieve some muscles and allows some stretching.

The less weight carried the better performance and fewer mechanicals as well in my experience.

My bias leans toward the tandem option but either way have a great trip!

prathmann

I've seen similar comments before and don't get it. Unless the stoker is wearing a confining neck brace there's no reason to keep looking straight ahead. I find the stoker's position to be great from the standpoint of enjoying the scenery since one can really look around without always having to check back to the road immediately ahead. OTOH, I find the captain position on a tandem to be constraining for viewing the scenery due to the need to watch for any potholes or other obstacles with enough time to give a warning to the stoker.

But for a long tour I'd opt for single bikes for the greater flexibility and less chance of issues arising between the two participants.

nancy sv

As a former stoker, I totally understand the idea that you only have peripheral vision. It was really hard (in some ways) to have NO idea what lay ahead. I couldn't see the cars ahead or the potholes or the incredible mountain vistas... I could look to the side all I wanted, which was a huge plus, but it was very strange to have no idea what was ahead of us.

EmmCeeBee

I use "scenery" as short-hand for "seeing where you're going". Not necessarily the mountains on the horizon. Like, "Did you just see that fox cross the road?!?!".

But then, I'm not speaking as a stoker, so I see your point. In any case (as BigBlueToe says above...), my stoker also gets tired of staring at my backside. She'd be the first to veto a tandem tour.

I agree about the greater flexibility with single bikes. But, really, that just shows our preference. For a couple who are committed to tandeming, togetherness trumps flexibility or any other factor. Bottom line is: for a cross-country tour, know before you go.

-- Mark

rhm

I tour with a tandem. I've done it with both my daughter (10) and my son (12). Obviously the advantage for us is that since we're not evenly matched, we can go at my pace. I plan to tour with my wife as well, for the same reason.

My tandem is a Counterpoint Opus II, where the stoker sits in recumbent position, out front; so no problem with the view! The stokers all love it, because it's comfortable over long distance, the view can't be beat, and they have independent cadence control so they can pick a higher gear than I would (and they always do!). But the bike is very heavy, probably heavier than two complete bikes.

I think, if you and your wife are evenly matched as riders, you really can't beat two bikes. In my case, however, the tandem makes a lot of sense.

AndrewP

I rode a tandem, quite a bit with my brothers and my sister when I was a teenager. It was good to be able to converse. We were all similar sizes, so it was easy to swap driver/stoker positions during the ride. The stoker was also able to hand out snacks and photograph the scenery while riding. Coordination of pedaling style needed for hill climbing.

rodar y rodar

If you`re considering it, try to rent or borrow one and give it a shot. Honestly though, I wouldn`t plan to take off on a long tandem tour until you`ve tried some short ones first. Even if you don`t end up touring on one, it might be nice to have for day rides and weekends.
My wife and I are fairly new tandemers (not quite a year), mostly due to big difference in our riding strength and abilities. In our case, it`s working great to be able to spend more time together, ride longer and farther than on our singles (stoker`s butt has become the limiting factor as far as time goes, captain`s knees the limiting factor for climbs) and I don`t have the constant fear of my wife`s ummm... I hate to say klutziness, so her BAD LUCK sending her into a ditch. Anyway, after about nine months of occasional tandeming (maybe 40 hours pedaling), I still don`t feel enough in control to take us on the shoulder of a major highway- the added challenge of planning a tour with no highway shoulders and no long grades would be pretty tough to overcome. I think we`re a bit behind in the learning curve, so there`s a good chance you`d progress faster than we are. So for us, no tandem tours in sight, but we enjoy the crap out of our short rides and we`re both very happy with it so far.

merlinextraligh

I'd post this in the tandem forum and get input from that group.

I would not consider a long tour on a tandem without a lot of experience with the two of you riding together.

Tandems work great for some couples, not for others.

They say a Tandem will take your relationship wherever it was headed faster.